More on stretching

To continue what TaeBo_Master wrote... The only dif I've found is what my PT told me, that six or eight seconds held on static stretches does maximum benefits. The old advice, at least 30 seconds, minutes are better, seems to be not supported by research.

To repeat earlier advice, the "journal of the American College of Sports Medicine: "The findings of the present study clearly indicate that a typical pre-exercise stretching protocol does not produce a clinically useful reduction in injury risk."

In other words, the study says stretching before exercise is a waste of time. People took note because the study involved 1538 Australian Army recruits in basic training, a large number of men doing strenuous exercise."http://www.runwithsam.com/articlestretching.htm

Thomas Kurz states in his free Article #9, that two misconceptions of stretching are:

That having great flexibility always prevents injuries, or that stretching before activity will.

Another gem from the same article:

The goals of the warm-up are: an increased alertness, improved coordination, improved elasticity and contractibility of muscles, and greater efficiency of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Static stretches, isometric or relaxed, just do not fit in a warm-up. Isometric tensions will only tire you and decrease your coordination. Passive, relaxed stretches, on the other hand, have a calming effect and can even make you sleepy.

I know that dynamic stretches, mainly leg lifts to the front, rear and side has improved my workouts tremendously. I have tried to convince those who train with me, but most still do the splits before the main part of their workout. Traditionally, the club I belong to always did static stretches during the warmup, and although I have presented the information thoroughly some remain unconvinced.